Nigella Lawson

The Domestic Goddess says her recipe makes the “Queen of Christmas puddings”, with one of the keys soaking her fruit in a particular kind of sherry.

“Having soaked my dried fruit for this pudding in Pedro Ximénez — the sweet, dark, sticky sherry that has a hint of liquorice, fig and treacle about it — I know there is no turning back,” she says. “It’s not even as if it’s an extravagance: the rum or brandy I’ve used up till now are more expensive and do the trick less well.” A shot of vodka, says Nigella, is the best spirit for flambéing your pud on the big day.